{"id":1086,"date":"2026-02-09T12:02:35","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T05:02:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/?p=1086"},"modified":"2026-02-09T12:02:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T05:02:35","slug":"china-commutes-canadians-death-sentence-after-carney-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/?p=1086","title":{"rendered":"China Commutes Canadian\u2019s Death Sentence After Carney Visit","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

China<\/a><\/strong> Supreme People\u2019s Court has overturned the death sentence of a Canadian man convicted on drug-related charges, in a development that could signal a thaw in long-tense relations between Beijing and Ottawa, according to his lawyer.<\/p>\n

Robert Schellenberg<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a>, who was arrested in China in 2014 on suspicion of drug smuggling, was originally sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2018. However, following a retrial in January 2019, his punishment was dramatically increased to the death penalty.<\/p>\n

The escalation came just one month after the detention in Canada of Meng Wanzhou<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a>, a senior executive at Huawei, on a U.S. extradition request\u2014an event that sharply worsened diplomatic ties between China and Canada.<\/p>\n

Supreme Court Orders Retrial<\/h4>\n

Beijing-based lawyer Zhang Dongshuo<\/span><\/span><\/strong> told Reuters<\/span><\/span><\/strong> that China\u2019s highest court ruled on Friday to reject the death sentence imposed by a lower court.<\/p>\n

The case has now been sent back to the Liaoning Provincial High People\u2019s Court<\/span><\/span><\/strong> for a retrial, Zhang said.<\/p>\n

While welcoming the decision, Zhang cautioned that the likelihood of a full acquittal remains low, given the severity of the charges and the original ruling.<\/p>\n

Timing Raises Diplomatic Questions<\/h4>\n

The court decision comes less than a month after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney<\/span><\/span><\/strong> concluded a four-day visit to China, during which he publicly described bilateral relations as improving after years of strain under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau<\/span><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"China<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on my experience, the timing strongly suggests a connection,\u201d Zhang said, pointing to positive official statements released by both governments following Carney\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s foreign ministry confirmed it was aware of the ruling and said it would continue to provide consular assistance to Schellenberg and his family, without commenting further on the court\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

Long-Running Source of Tension<\/h4>\n

Schellenberg\u2019s case has been a major point of friction between the two countries. His death sentence was upheld by the Liaoning court in 2021, prompting strong condemnation from Ottawa.<\/p>\n

Last year, Canada said that four Canadian citizens had been executed in China on drug-related charges, underscoring the sensitivity of such cases.<\/p>\n

Relations between Beijing and Ottawa deteriorated sharply after China detained two Canadian nationals on espionage allegations shortly after Meng\u2019s arrest. The two were released in 2021 on the same day the United States dropped its extradition request against Meng, allowing her to return to China\u2014an episode widely described by critics as \u201chostage diplomacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trade Disputes and Recent Rapprochement<\/h4>\n

Tensions flared again in 2024 after Canada imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, following similar measures by the United States. China responded with tariffs on more than $2.6 billion worth of Canadian agricultural and food products, including canola oil, meal and seed.<\/p>\n

Following Carney\u2019s visit, both countries agreed to sharply reduce tariffs on electric vehicles and canola, marking a significant reversal and signalling renewed efforts to stabilise ties.<\/p>\n

Analysts say the improving relationship between Canada and China could influence the broader geopolitical landscape, particularly amid growing rivalry between Beijing and Washington. However, they caution that Ottawa is unlikely to fundamentally shift away from its close alignment with the United States.<\/p>\n

As Schellenberg\u2019s case heads back to a provincial court, the ruling is being closely watched as both a legal turning point and a barometer of China\u2013Canada relations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

China Supreme People\u2019s Court has overturned the death sentence of a Canadian man convicted on drug-related charges, in a development that could signal a thaw in long-tense relations between Beijing and Ottawa, according to his lawyer. Robert Schellenberg, who was arrested in China in 2014 on suspicion of drug smuggling, was originally sentenced to 15 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":1,"featured_media":1087,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1086"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1089,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1086\/revisions\/1089"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}